


In Quiet Solitude With You

by Destialforever



Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (Comics), The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:48:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 20,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24362314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Destialforever/pseuds/Destialforever
Summary: This is my version of Season 2 of The Walking Dead with an added in Original Female CharacterI don't own The Walking DeadI have changed things around so it doesn't right along with theactual Season 2 of The Walking Dead.
Relationships: Daryl Dixon/Original Female Character(s), Daryl Dixon/Reader, Daryl Dixon/You
Comments: 2
Kudos: 28
Collections: Dark Days





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This can be read as a stand alone or as a continuation of my other two stories.  
> This one would fall in as #3 in the series 
> 
> #1 - New Begginings  
> #2- Types  
> #3- In Quiet Solitude With You

Rick went out after Sophia and was gone for a long time when he came back he was alone.  
Carol was crying harder now.  
I felt for her but there wasn’t anything anyone could say that could make it better.  
The only thing that would fix the pain was having her baby back with her safe and sound.  
Rick asked Shane , Glenn and Daryl to go back out with him and help him look.  
As they were getting their weapons Daryl walked over to me.  
“Are you going to be ok here without me?” he asked  
“Yeah i’ll just keep going through cars. I’ll be ok.” I said  
“Ok here take this knife and keep it close at all times. If Shane comes back before me you go stay close to the others. Maybe stick with Dale. You stay safe, you hear me.” He said  
He tucked the knife onto the waist of my pants and made sure my shirt was tucked behind it.  
“I will….you stay safe out there. I hope ya’ll find Sophia.” I said  
“We will no worries there .” He said then leaned forward and kissed my forehead.  
Rick called him and they all headed out into the woods.

After a while Shane and Glenn came back. They said Rick and Daryl were going to keep following the trail.  
I decided to stick close to Dale.  
“Not that i mind you keeping me company but is there a reason why Y/N?” Dale asked  
He was a kind man and he had a fatherly way about him.  
“Well I told Daryl I'd stay safe while he was gone. He suggested I stay close to you.” i said, leaving out the part about Shane.  
But Dale is sharp; he knew I was leaving something out.  
“You were out there going through cars earlier though. So why now?” He asked  
“Dale, I don't want to start trouble. I like this group. I don't want to get kicked out.” i said  
“Sweetheart we would never kick you out. Now it’s just you and me here everyone else is a ways off doing things so go ahead and tell me what Daryl is worried about.” he said  
“At the CDC Shane pinned me to a wall he didn’t do anything else Daryl stepped in real fast and I've been careful to stay with Daryl ever since .” I said quietly I didn't want anyone else to hear.  
Dale looked upset.  
“If he ever touches you again you come to me and I'll go and talk to Rick. But i agree with Daryl, you should stay close to me when he’s not around. Don’t you worry Daryl will be back soon i’m sure and until then you can help me.” Dale said, smiling and giving me a one armed hug.  
“Thanks Dale.” i said smiling

It was almost dark by the time Rick and Daryl got back but they didn’t have Sophia with them.  
They talked to everyone a bit then walked their separate ways . Daryl headed straight for me.  
He kissed my forehead “You been ok? Any problems ? “ he asked, grabbing my hand and pulling me over to the bike.  
“I’m ok and no problems. I did have a talk with Dale. He was curious why I was sticking close to him so I had to tell him why.” I said looking down  
He reached over and put his hand under my chin and tilted my head back up.  
“Good, I'm glad he knows i guess i should have told him myself. It’s better that someone else knows. Better to keep you safe that way. Did he say anything?” he asked  
“He said you were right to tell me to stay close to him and to tell him if Shane ever did it again that he would go talk to Rick about it.”I said  
“He puts his hands on you again and they'll be picking pieces of him up. We won’t need to do any chatting.” He said  
I just smiled  
“Where are we going to sleep tonight ? We can't pitch a tent on a road and we won't all fit in the RV.” I asked because I was tired. It had been a very long day and I honestly just wanted to lay down.  
“I was thinking about that earlier. There's a lot of cars and most are empty. We could find a good size one and sleep there. Work for you??” He asked  
“Yeah sounds good….think the windows will roll up and the doors will lock still on them? For safety.” i asked nodding  
“Yeah we’ll work it out. Let's go find one.” he said walking towards a SUV  
He started moving stuff around inside the SUV thankfully there was nobody in this one and no blood or gore that i could see.  
He moved some boxes out and to the side of it grabbed some blankets that were already in there.  
And spread them out in the back after laying the seat down.  
It still had the keys in the ignition and oddly when I turned it the lights came on inside.  
So I was able to roll the windows to just barely open. I was checking the glove box for anything useful when Daryl came back with our bags.  
He had put the back seat down all the way so we would have more space and had our sleeping bags laid out .  
“I told Rick we’d be over here what with it being so crowded.” Daryl said  
“Ok “ i said watching him  
“You find anything good?” he asked  
“I found you some cigarettes and another lighter. And I found some gum. Not much else. What about the boxes that were in here ?” i asked  
He smiled reaching out for the pack and lighter. “Thanks” he said  
“There was some food. Protein bars and cookies it’s not much of a meal but it’s better than nothing. I grabbed some water when I went and got our bags. Come on and hop in the back so we can close the doors up and lock them.” he said  
I climbed into the back and then Daryl followed, closing the door behind him and hitting the lock button . There was a loud click . It’s the little things these days like being able to have a safe place to sleep.  
And a person you trust to watch your back .

We ate in silence Daryl wasn’t much of a talker and I was fine with that.  
He looked like he was thinking about something. I knew he’d tell me as soon as he was ready.  
We finished eating and he started talking  
“Rick wants to take everyone but Dale and T-Dog out tomorrow to look for Sophia.” He said  
He looked over at me and i nodded ok  
“I don’t want you to go. I want you to stay here with Dale and T.” he said  
“Ok but will Rick be ok with that?” i asked  
“Did you find anything to clean T-Dogs arm today while you were looking through the cars?” he asked  
“No not yet but there's still a lot of cars to go through.” i said  
“Ok then that's why you need to stay behind. We’ll talk to Rick in the morning . Ok?” he asked  
“Ok if you think that’s best.” i said  
“I need you to be here safe so I can concentrate on finding Sophia. If you’re out there i’ll spend my time watching out for you and that wont help us find her.” he said reaching over and touching my face.  
“You understand?” he asked  
I nodded yes  
“Ok good. We’ll talk to Rick in the morning. Let’s get some sleep. I don't have a watch tonight so i’ll be here with you the whole time . So you don’t have to worry just rest.” he said letting go of my face.  
“Ok night Daryl.” i said scooting down into my sleeping bag  
“Night Y/N.” he said smiling

Sleep came easily like it had since I'd been with this group. It was never like that before  
With my old group hell even before the end. I suffered from horrible insomnia for years.  
When the world was still turning I went to doctors and tried treatment after treatment but nothing helped.  
Who knew that the insomnia aide I needed was a surly redneck watching over me every night.  
Right as I was falling asleep I felt a hand run through my hair and cup the side of my face.  
Then nothing..

Morning arrived far too early for my liking but that's the way it is now. I would have thought there’d be more down time during an apocalypse but it’s just going constantly.  
There’s always chores to be done or supplies to be gathered.  
I never realized how spoiled us humans were before until everything was gone.  
No stores being replenished daily where you can go buy whatever you need.  
No doctors or hospitals if you get hurt or sick.  
No electricity to run appliances. You truly do miss washers and dryers when they’re gone.  
Doing laundry by hand is very labor intensive. And it takes forever.  
By the time I got up Daryl was already awake and out of the SUV but he left water and food for me.  
I ate and then put my socks and shoes back on. Then headed over to the RV where I could see Daryl and Rick talking.  
Daryl looked over at me and nodded. Rick turned his head to look my way and smiled.  
“Morning Y/N.” Rick said  
“Morning” i said  
I went and stood close to Daryl. He reached over and grabbed my hand.  
“Daryl and I were just talking. I agree you should stay back and keep pulling supplies. We do need to get T-Dogs arm dealt with before it gets bad. Are you ok with that?” Rick asked  
I nodded “Yeah it’s fine with me. You would think somewhere in all this there’d be something even just a bottle of booze. That we could use to clean wounds. But so far nothing I want to look a little bit further up.” I said  
Rick nodded and Daryl squeezed my hand.  
“That's good you do that. It would also be good to have some extra hands here to help Dale and T-Dog if something happens.” Rick said  
With that he walked away calling out to the group. Daryl pulled me back over to the SUV so he could get his pack together.  
I heard Andrea get into it with Dale. All over a gun. Don’t get me wrong I understand being upset because someone takes your stuff.  
But I think Andrea is not seeing the whole picture. She was actually trying to put a gun back together when the herd came through .  
If she had fired it we would have all been done for. She doesn’t understand you have to be quiet.  
Guns are an emergency weapon if there's just a few you need to use something else.  
I’m not even good at all this stuff and I know that. I get nervous at the thought of them using guns the noise is so loud it could draw the walkers in so fast.  
But then i don’t understand giving up either. Even when I was on my own in Atlanta and there was no sign of hope I wasn't willing to give up. I want to live as long as i possibly can.  
That’s why what Miss Jacqui did doesn’t make sense to me. Just giving up like that I couldn't do it. But it was her choice. I hope she didn’t regret it at the end.  
I do wish I could have said goodbye. She was a nice lady.  
I was watching Dale and Andrea as they talked , argued whatever it was.  
Daryl touched my side to get my attention.  
“I just don’t understand her at all.” I said  
He just shrugged and was biting his thumb  
“Who knows with her. “ He said  
“You need to watch her Daryl if she were to fire a gun y'all could end up being overrun out there.  
I don’t like the idea of you going out there with her when she’s acting all crazy.” i said cutting a glance at Andrea  
When I turned back to him he had a small smile on his face.  
“I’m going to be ok, don't you worry about that. “ he said reaching up to cup the side of my face  
He leaned forward and kissed my forehead.  
“You ain’t getting rid of me that easy.” He said  
“Good.” that was all there was to say  
I leaned my head forward onto his shoulder and put my arms around his waist.  
He kept one hand on the side of my face and the other on his crossbow.  
Then Rick yelled to him that they needed to go, they were burning daylight.  
Daryl kissed my head one more time and then walked after them.

I went and got the meds out of the saddle bag on the bike apparently they used to belong to Daryl's brother Merle.  
He was gone before I joined the group that was a mess of a story.  
Although from what i heard about Merle from Glenn i’m kind of glad he’s not here.  
Shane is bad enough but to have Merle as well would be a nightmare.  
I do feel bad for Daryl though that was the only family he had and he loved him even if he was a bad person.  
Dale and T-Dog were by the RV talking and I handed T a bottle of water.  
“Here take these, it'll help some but we still need to get your arm cleaned up. The Lord only knows what’s in it from that door.” I said  
“Y/N what are these pills?” Dale asked  
“Antibiotic and pain pills. Daryl said they were part of Merle's stash. It seems Merle got the clap on occasion.” I said  
Dale just smiled and gave me a hug.  
T-Dog took the pills  
“T you should go into the RV and get some rest. At Least for an hour let the meds settle in your system.” I told him gently, pushing him towards the door.  
“Ok i’ll go rest but only because i’m tired.” T-Dog said  
Dale just chuckled a bit  
“Dale i heard what Andrea said earlier. I understand why you're doing what you're doing.  
But i think you may just be poking the bull a bit. Andrea seems out of sorts and on a weird kick about stuff right now. I think by pushing it you might be making her fight harder on this thing.  
I don’t understand her and I never met her sister. But I've met women like her before and they are so determined to prove that they can do everything they don’t bother to stop and ask why it matters to them.” I said  
Dale looked thoughtful for a minute  
“You might be right but i just worry. I mean she was ready to let herself be blown up at the CDC.” he said

“Dale did you try to talk Miss Jacqui out of her decision to?” i asked  
Dale's eyes got real big.  
“I’m guessing that means no. I don’t think it was the choice you were upset about Dale after all you didn’t say anything to Miss Jacqui. I think you just didn’t want Andrea to go and leave you alone. I think it’s more about your feelings then hers . “ i told him  
I leaned forward and gave him a light hug then headed out to start pulling supplies.  
I had found a rolling cart in a truck the day before so i emptied it out and headed off to the farthest vehicle that i could without being out of sight of the RV.  
I promised Daryl I'd stay within sight of Dale at all times while I was working out here.

I found my mind wandering as I worked. Not surprising it wandered to Daryl. He really is a handsome man. Not in a classic way mind you but in his own special way.  
I’d never really dated much before the fall. I just wasn’t comfortable with anyone.  
I did try on occasion but it never worked. I'm not the outgoing type and I'm quiet.  
The word I heard the most to describe me was boring.  
I’m also not a stunner in the looks department. I mean I think i’m ok.  
I suppose the best word to describe my looks would be average. Which isn’t a bad thing and it doesn’t seem like that bothers Daryl.  
Daryl didn’t seem to mind that I was dull or boring either. And he was quiet too so we were just normally quiet together.  
It wasn’t awkward, the quiet between us.

I’d been working for a couple of hours when T-Dog came back out of the RV. He looked a bit better. But i still haven't found anything to use to clean his arm out. Not even peroxide.  
These people packed stupid for the end of the world.  
Where are the cars that belonged to preppers? That's what we need.  
Suddenly there was a noise off in the distance and it sounded like a gunshot.  
We all stopped and looked in that direction.  
Dale turned to me “ I’m sure it’s ok. Daryl will be back soon sweetie don’t you worry.” he said  
“Yeah he’s too stubborn for anything else. It’ll be ok Y/N you’ll see.” T-Dog said  
I just nodded and went back to work.

It was a few more hours and it was getting close to dusk when they finally came back.  
Well all but Rick , Shane, Lori and Carl.  
Glenn said Carl had been shot and some girl on horseback had come and got Lori.  
Dale made a comment but Daryl shut it down fast.  
Striding right over to me and grabbing me in a hug. And kissing my head.  
“You been ok?” he asked  
I nodded “I was worried when we heard what sounded like a gunshot. I’m glad you're finally back.” i said  
He just pulled me in closer and kissed my head again .

It was decided that Glenn and T-Dog would go ahead to the farm where the others were.  
They weren’t happy about it but I still hadn’t found anything to clean his arm with other than water.  
And the rest of us would stay here and tomorrow we’d fix up a sign for Sophia and leave some supplies just in case.  
Andrea and Dale are tip toeing around each other. Carol is just crying. Understandably so.  
After dark Daryl and I head over to the SUV.  
Andrea said she’d take Daryls guard duty so he would be able to stay with me all night again.  
Which i was very glad about.  
We get locked in and eat a bit.  
I really didn’t like being apart all day for almost 2 days straight. I know it’s necessary but that doesn’t mean i have to like it. I find it strange that we’re getting so close so fast but i can’t find it in myself to be upset or to want to stop.  
After we ate Daryl laid down with an arm behind his head.  
I made a quick decision and moved my sleeping bag over closer to him and then draped myself across him hugging his middle.  
He huffed a little but didn’t say anything.  
I was laying there close to him and I felt his other arm wrap around my shoulders.  
I fell asleep really fast after that.

In the morning we put all the supplies that we pulled into the RV they aren't really organized we just stacked it all in the back.  
It was a mix of food , clothes and other assorted items that we thought we might be able to use.  
We made the sign on a car windshield and left some supplies on the hood of the car.  
Then we headed off to the farm where everyone else was.

We pulled up and people started to come out of the house. It was a beautiful house.  
Something that back in the day i would have loved to live in but now i look at it and automatically see the flaws .  
Like no fences other than barb wire from what i can see. Those won’t keep THEM out.  
It’s nice and quiet but it wouldn’t stand up to a herd of walkers.  
I got off the bike with Daryl.  
“Is carl ok?” i asked Rick  
He nodded “Yeah he is going to be ok.” he said  
“Thanks to Hershel and his people” Lori said  
“And Shane “ Rick said  
Dale said Thank god and hugged Rick  
Everyone was hugging except Daryl and I , we were standing back out of the way.

We’re setting up camp now close to the house.  
They seem like nice people a little squirrely sometimes but nice.  
I knew Daryl was going to go out searching for Sophia soon as we were settled in.  
I was a bit worried because he gets involved and that means he’ll be out in the woods for hours and I'll be in camp without him.  
I’m thinking about asking if i can go with him but i think he’ll say no because it’s not safe.

We were in the tent settling in for the night.  
“Daryl, can i ask you something?” i said  
He looked over at me with a confused look.  
“Since when do you ask?” he said  
“Never normally . I don’t want to stay in camp while you’re out searching. I want to go with you.” i said  
He was already shaking his head no.  
“No ain’t no way I'm risking your safety by taking you out in the woods with me. We don’t know what all is out there.” he said  
“That’s a good reason for me to go. I can be your back up.” I said  
He’s still shaking his head no.  
“No and that’s final. You’re staying in camp and staying close to Dale. “ He said  
“Fine.” i said  
I went to roll over and go to sleep. I had settled onto my side facing away from him.  
I heard him shifting around and then he cuddled up behind me and wrapped his arm around my waist.  
“I’m doing this to keep you safe. I’m not trying to be mean to ya. Ok? “ he said  
“ I know i just don’t like it when we’re apart that long and i worry about this place it’s not secure.” i said  
“I don’t like being away from you either. I’m only doing it because I have to. I promise I'll come back before dark every day. And i know this place ain’t secure we just have to do the best we can. “ he said  
He tightened his arm around my waist and pulled me firmly against him.  
And tucked his face into my neck and kissed my neck.  
“It’ll be ok. I’m always going to take care of you and you’ll take care of me.” he said  
I turned my head and looked into his eyes.  
“Ok” i said  
He leaned in and kissed me lightly on the lips.  
“Go to sleep Y/N” he said  
I settled further into his arms and felt the tension just melt away. As I fell asleep I felt him kiss my neck again and cuddle closer.

I woke up still cuddled in his arms with his face pressed into my neck. I could tell it was already daylight and I could hear Lori and Carol talking in the distance.  
I suppose we had to get up eventually. Even though I was open to just staying here like this all day.

Daryl stretched and tightened his arm around me. He snaked his other arm under my neck and pulled me completely back against him while rubbing his face in my neck.  
I couldn’t help it. I started to giggle...what it tickles.  
He huffed but I could feel him smiling against my skin.  
“You’re like a cat this morning” i laughed  
He growled and bit my neck .  
“Big bad cat.” he said as i squeaked  
“Cozy Cat is more like it .” i said  
“Hmmm yeah that to.” he said snuggling further into me  
“Everyone is up already. I suppose we should get up.” i said  
“Do you want to?” he asked  
“Nope i want to stay right here all day.” i said snuggling back into him more  
Daryl huffed and rubbed his face in my neck more.  
Then kissed my neck and nipped it.  
I turned and looked at him; he leaned in and kissed me.

“Come on let’s get up. If we don’t i’ll end up staying here with you all day.” he said  
I smiled.  
We got up and dressed . And headed out to the campfire to see what food was available.  
It was eggs which is a nice change. We ate then Daryl pulled me to the tent so he could get his stuff ready to go out. I made sure to put some protein bars in his pack and a bottle of water.  
He leaned down and kissed me  
“I’ll be back. Stay with Dale today. Ok?” he said  
“Ok. Stay safe.” i said  
He nodded Shrugged his crossbow over his shoulder and turned and walked away into the woods.

I walked over to the RV.  
“Hey Dale.” i called up to him where he was on the top of the RV  
“Hello Sweetie. Daryl off to search for Sophia?” he asked  
I nodded yes  
“Well why don’t you come up here and keep me company.” Dale said smiling  
I climbed up the ladder onto the RV  
“Everything ok Y/N?” Dale asked  
“Yeah i guess. I just wanted to go with Daryl to search but he wouldn't let me . He said it wasn’t safe and that I needed to stay here in camp with you.” i said  
I know he was right but i’m still not happy about it.  
“Don’t worry Daryl is good in the woods he’ll be fine and he’ll be back by dark i’m sure of it.” dale said  
I just nodded

I sat up there with Dale for hours and would have stayed up there if Lori hadn’t called me to come help.  
I went and helped organize the supplies in the RV with Lori and Carol  
Then I helped with cleaning and cooking so Lori could go spend time with Carl.  
Carol was trying to find anything to keep herself busy.  
We completely cleaned the RV from top to bottom inside.  
It looked like a completely different RV after we were done.  
Then we started on some mending and that’s what we were doing when Daryl walked in.  
He sat a beer bottle with a flower in it on the cabinet. And told us about the story behind it.  
Then he held out his hand to me and I walked out with him to our tent.  
“That was a very nice thing you did for Carol.” i told him  
He just huffed  
When we ducked into the tent he took his pack and was getting something out .  
He pulled out a bag and handed it to me.  
Then started chewing his thumb..He did that when he was nervous.  
I opened the bag and saw several things inside.  
I started pulling them out. There was an unopened tube of chapstick , a pad of paper , some pencils , a hair tie and a small bear holding a heart.  
Awwww i smiled  
I went and wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him.  
“Thank You! I love all of it.” i said hugging him tight  
He wrapped his arms around my waist and squeezed while kissing my neck.  
Then he huffed but I could tell he was smiling.

The night was quiet. We ate together as a group then went our separate ways to sleep.  
Daryl and I headed back to our tent for the night.  
“How was it out there today?” i asked  
“Found something in an old house and think it might have been her. I think i’ll take a horse out tomorrow and see what i can find farther up.” he said  
“Do you really think she’ll be ok when we find her?” i asked  
Daryl stopped what he was doing and looked at me.  
“What do you mean?” he asked  
“Daryl, she's young and she’s not trained to hunt or survive . It would be hard enough for her if there weren’t walkers everywhere. But there are. She was sheltered and she’s so skittish. I just can’t help but wonder if she’ll be ok or if she’ll be one of them.” i said  
“You listen to me. She’s going to be just fine. Just fine.” he said  
I nodded as he was talking  
“You need to remember though if she is turned it’s not your fault. You’re doing everything you can to find her. If she isn’t ok you can't blame yourself. And you can’t push everyone away either. You can’t push me away. Please” i said putting my hands on his sides  
He reached up and cupped my face.  
“I won’t push you away…. Ever. You’re stuck with me for as long as you’ll have me.” he said kissing my forehead when he finished talking  
“So forever.”I said smiling  
He huffed and pull me into a hug

The next day came way too soon. I woke up to the sun shining through the tent. Daryl wasn’t with me.  
I could hear voices in the distance so they must all be up already.  
I suppose i had to get up then.  
I got dressed and got my shoes on and headed out to the main fire.  
Everyone was already there.  
Daryl had a chair for me next to him  
As I sat down Carol handed me a plate with some eggs and spam.  
I’ve never cared for spam but now you eat what's available you don't get to be picky.  
I sat back and Daryl leaned in and kissed the side of my head.  
I smiled over at him.  
Today he said he was going to take a horse out.  
I hope it went well  
We finished eating then we walked back over to our tent so he could get his stuff.  
I checked to see if he needed anything in his pack and ended up putting some more protein bars and water in it.  
Might as well use them while we have them.  
After that he gave me a kiss then headed to the barn to get a horse.  
I headed over to the RV to see what I needed to do today.

I spent the day helping in the garden they had. Gathering eggs. And picking peaches.  
I was headed back in the direction of the RV when I heard a gunshot. I remembered that Andrea was on duty today.  
I took off running and met up with everyone from inside the house as they headed out.  
I could see the group coming back towards the house with Daryl between them.  
He was dirty and looked like he was unconscious.  
I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders  
“He’ll be ok. You know him, he's tough sweetie.” Lori said as she squeezed my shoulders  
All i could do was nod

When they got closer I could see he was bleeding from his head and his side.  
“What happened?” i asked  
“We don’t know exactly” Rick said  
“Andrea shot him.” Glenn said at the same time  
“Andrea did what now?” i asked  
They went past me into the house with him i turned back to the others  
“I am so sorry Y/N. I thought he was a walker. “ Andrea said  
“Andrea, they told you to let them handle it, the four of them went out there . “ Dale said  
“Let me get this straight. Four of the men went out there to see if it was a walker or not.  
And told you to not shoot and to let them handle it and you ignored them. And shot anyway probably without being able to see clearly because of the sun and almost killed Daryl?” I said  
Andrea had a sheepish look on her face but I could tell it was guilt. Like a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar.  
“Yes” she said  
I didn’t even realize I was walking till I was right in front of her. I hauled my arm back and knocked her on her ass.  
She had blood dripping down her face and her nose was probably broken.  
“Oh Wow!” Glenn said  
“Damn!” T-dog said  
Not a word from Dale though  
“If i ever see you on top of that RV again with or without a gun i’ll break your damn neck.  
And if he dies because of this you better run. Because I will kill you. He’s mine and no one will ever hurt him. Do you hear me bitch!?” I said I was so mad I could taste it.  
Andrea looked up at me from the ground in shock and just nodded.

With that I turned around and walked into the house.  
I was serious about it all too.  
Rick was standing outside of the room Hershel was in with Daryl treating his wounds.  
“Rick, you can tell me if i'm overstepping but i have to say something. Andrea is a threat to everyone. This attitude she has right now of having to do everything better than everyone else and refusing to listen to people is going to get someone killed. It may have already done it with Daryl. They said ya’ll told her to stand down and let y'all handle it and she ignored ya’ll and shot anyway. What would have happened if she had been able to see well enough. She could have taken his head off. Hell she could have missed him and hit one of ya’ll. I don’t feel safe with her up on the RV or with her carrying a gun.” I said quickly before someone could interrupted me  
Lori walked up and put her arm around my shoulders.  
“I agree with Y/N . I don’t know what is going on with Andrea but right now she’s a risk to everyone. She could have killed someone. She could still kill someone.” Lori said  
Carol was standing off to Lori’s side nodding  
Shane spoke up  
“I think they’re right man . I didn’t want to say anything before because i thought it would get better after we had gun training. But honestly she’s been getting worse since the CDC. “ Shane said  
I was shocked that he’d agree with anything i said but i’m pretty sure i had Lori to thank for that.  
“You’re all right. Shane take her off watch and make sure the others know not to let her have a gun. We can’t risk other peoples safety . I’ll talk to her later and let her know it was a group decision and that if she can get herself right again we’ll think about letting her go back to doing things involving weapons.” Rick said  
Shane just nodded and headed out the front door  
“Thank You” i said  
Rick nodded then put his hand on my arm  
“Hershel said he’ll be ok Y/N . Don’t worry. He just asked us to stay out here so he would have room to work.” he said  
I nodded and OMG was that a relief  
“Come on sweetie you can help us in the kitchen till Hershel’s done that’ll help keep your mind busy.” Lori said taking my hand and pulling me behind her to the kitchen.  
The others had decided to cook dinner for Hershel’s family to say thank you for everything they’ve done so far.  
I’m not sure that Hershel was happy about it though from the conversation I just heard him have with Maggie.  
I’m sure Rick knows he expects us to leave but I don't think anyone else does. Yet.  
That won’t go over well . Everyone is settling in here. Well everyone except me and Daryl.  
We’ve talked about it. We’ll stay if the group stays but if it starts to get dangerous we’ll pack up and leave.  
We talked about taking the bike out to the highway where we were before and fixing up the SUV that we used to sleep in.  
We put the boxes back in it and I have the keys in my backpack just to be safe.  
We can’t carry enough on the bike for traveling. Maybe now while he’s hurt would be a good time to do it. Well when he’s up and around at least.  
That way we can drive up the road a bit and look for Sophia because knowing him if he doesn’t go out looking somehow he’ll try and go back out into the woods alone.  
I’ll talk to him about it later when we’re alone. I know Shane was fixing up that car so that he could leave but now it’s looking like he’s changed his mind.  
I’d rather have a back up plan just in case. We can pack the SUV with supplies and extra gas.  
After Hershel was done talking to Maggie he came into the kitchen and told me I could go into the room with Daryl now. Just make sure he is careful of the stiches.  
He smiled as I nodded and took off out of the kitchen. He’s a nice man even if he is hiding something. I don’t know what he’s hiding but secrets never stay secret so it’ll come out eventually.  
“Hey Hershel said you’re ok.” I said walking in and closing the door  
He turned his head and held out his hand to me.  
“Yeah i’m ok. How are you?” he asked  
“Well I didn't fall down a hill and land on an arrow or get shot today so I'd say I'm doing alot better than you.” I said cuddling close but being careful of his side.  
“I heard you knocked Andrea on her ass for shooting me. That true?” he asked with a raised eyebrow  
“Yes and I'd do it again too.” i said  
He just smiled “That’s my girl.” and kissed the side of my head  
We just laid there in the quiet for the longest time. That was one of the things about Daryl he didn’t feel the need to fill every moment with noise.  
He was content with the nothingness of being quiet.  
It was nice just to be . Not fretting over if you were saying something wrong.  
Just be . Just exist in the moment.

A little while later Carol came in carrying a tray . I got up to help her with it.  
“I wanted to bring you both something cause i knew you wouldn’t come out to eat.” she said  
She was right, I would have gotten something for us much later.  
“Thank you” i said  
Daryl just huffed  
“Daryl, I want you to know something. You’ve done more for my daughter then her daddy ever did in her entire life. Thank You.” she said  
“I didn’t do anything Rick or Shane wouldn’t do.” He said  
“I know you’re every bit as good as them.” She said before turning and walking out  
“Actually I think you’re better . But i’m biased .” i said smiling  
He just huffed  
I got the tray and put it between us so we could both eat. And we just sat there quietly together.

After we ate, I took the tray back to the kitchen and cleaned up our plates.  
Then I went back to the room.  
“I was thinking it’s going to be a few days before you can really do too much so maybe now would be a good time to get the SUV set up and maybe drive the road and check for signs of Sophia that way.” i said  
He was chewing on his thumb  
“Yeah we can do that. Has something happened that I don't know about? Is that why you want to go set up the SUV?” he asked  
I glanced back at the door and was listening for anyone coming close.  
“I heard Hershel talking to Maggie and he said he wanted us gone. All of us. Said we were getting too comfortable here. I think he’s keeping a secret and secrets always come out. When it does, I think there's going to be trouble. I’d like to have a back up plan.” i said  
He looked thoughtful for a minute then nodded “Yeah you’re right it couldn’t hurt to have a back up plan. And if something ever happens and we were to get seperated go the highway and we’ll meet up there. “ He said.  
I nodded  
He held out his hand to pull me close. We went to sleep after that. We had a plan .

If I had known what was going to happen in the next few days I would have packed Daryl and myself up and left.

Daryl spent the next day resting and I spent most of it with him. Otherwise he would have wandered .  
Dale and Shane had been giving each other what my momma called side eye for a little while now. I’m not sure but i think something happened with Andrea and Shane after gun training.  
Before she shot Daryl and had her gun taken away.  
They actually did take it away. She’s back on laundry and cooking duty.  
And she’s pissed about it but i don't care .  
As for her and Shane she’s a grown up and maybe it will shift his attention off of Lori.  
That right there is a whole other mess. I heard her and Dale talking apparently she’s pregnant.  
I told Daryl what I heard and he said it’s probably Shanes kid because before Rick showed up those two had apparently been going at it .  
From what Daryl said, pretty hot and heavy. That’ll be a huge problem. I just know it.  
After that though Daryl got bored and started nipping at my throat so i didn’t talk about it anymore.

The next morning started out so normal well as normal as the end of the world ever is.  
We went and joined everyone at the main fire for breakfast.  
While we were eating Glenn stood up and got everyone's attention. Something had been going on with him and Maggie too.  
“So the barns full of walkers.” he said  
Oh good lord!!  
Well I was right that’s one heck of a secret they were keeping.  
Everyone took off for the barn running after Shane. Well everyone except me and Daryl we walked.  
“So this the secret you think they were keeping?” Daryl asked, slinging his arm around my shoulders.  
“Well it is a dosey of a secret. Yeah i think this is it. I do wonder if it would have come out sooner if that man Otis hadn’t died. “ i said  
Daryl just huffed  
Yeah who knows.  
“Shanes going to go crazy over this. He’ll be pushing to leave and head on to Fort Benning.” Daryl said  
I had been thinking about Fort Benning. If the military fell everywhere else we’d been including the CDC. Then what was the chance they had been able to hold out at Fort Benning.  
“Do you really think they managed to hold out at Fort Benning? I mean the military was overrun everywhere that we’ve seen.” i asked  
“No, I think it’s gone. But good luck getting Shane to see sense.” he said  
“He was crazy at the CDC but he seems even worse now. Why do you think that is?” i asked  
“Cause he killed Otis.” Daryl said pulling me closer to him as we approached the barn  
Well yeah that would explain why he was acting so psycho. I wonder why he killed Otis ?  
Everyone is listening to Shane rant and Rick try and talk him down.  
This is going to get bad. I can just feel it.  
I leaned closer to Daryl so only he would hear me  
“This is going to get really bad isn’t it?” i asked  
He just nodded and hugged me closer when the barn door shook.  
After a few more minutes the group broke up to go different directions  
Daryl told Rick we were going to go drive the highway a bit and see if maybe she’d come back that way.  
And that we’d keep an eye open for supplies to. Rick was distracted but he said it was a good idea and to be safe.  
We grabbed our packs and jumped on the bike and headed out.  
Today we were going to get the SUV set up as a back up plan.  
The bike wouldn’t fit into the SUV but there was a van a little ways from it pulling a trailer.  
So we decided to go through that and clean it off of most everything.  
That way we could put the bike on the trailer and just haul it. Daryl didn’t like the idea of us being separated even if it was just when we were driving.  
I was totally fine with it and said so. The world now is too uncertain.  
The rest of the day went smoothly. We finished getting the SUV ready and even got extra gas put aside.  
Then we went and drove down the road looking to see if Sophia had made it back this way.  
But we didn’t find any signs of her. We grabbed some more supplies to take back to camp.  
And we found some stuff to put in the SUV. After that we headed back to camp.  
Nothing much had changed when we got there. Shane and Rick were still arguing. But now so was Shane and Lori.  
It really was like a soap opera here with these people.  
Not long afterwards we turned in for the night. If i had known i would have stayed in the tent asleep the next day. And I would have had Daryl stay too.

The day started off boring as normal. Everything at the end of the world seemed to revolve around food and water. We were always looking for both. And the search seemed never ending.  
Rick and T-Dog were supposed to go and look for Sophia but Rick got side tracked by Hershel.  
Dale and Shane disappeared for a while. Andrea kept pouting about how abused she was .  
I went out of my way once to ask Daryl real loud how his head was ?  
DId he need a new bandage for his gunshot wound?  
I saw him smirk a bit as Andrea lowered her head. He knew what I was doing but was playing along.

A little later Shane came striding back into camp with the gun bag over his shoulder.  
I walked over to the house where Daryl was standing.  
Shane started handing out guns as he handed Daryl one he looked at me and I just shrugged.  
Shane was going on about protecting ourselves and how Hershel would just have to understand.  
Lori came out of the house and was telling him to stop.  
Then T-Dog said something and we all turned to look  
And there was Rick , Hershel and Jimmy coming out of the woods leading walkers with sticks like a couple of dogs on leashes.  
Uh Oh.

Shane took off running!  
Everyone followed him.  
“I don’t know what's going on but you stick close to me at all times. You hear?” Daryl said  
“Yeah” i said

We all got to the barn Shane was going off about walkers then he started shooting the one Hershel had control of.  
I feel bad for Hershel. He so wanted his family and friends to get better.  
Hope these days wasn't something that was easy to find or keep hold of.

Shane finally shot the walker Hershel had in the head . He was still yelling about having to understand and deal with things.  
About how it wasn’t like before. He went and was hitting the barn door .  
Then he opened it.  
Daryl had me tucked behind him and I had my hands holding his vest tight.  
Everyone started shooting the walkers as they came out of the barn.  
Then as suddenly as it started it was done and all the walkers were laying on the ground.

There was a quiet growling coming from the barn  
It was getting closer to the door.  
Oh No. Sophia. It was Sophia that was walking out well , what used to be Sophia.  
I could hear Carol crying and moving.  
“Daryl grab Carol.” i said  
He grabbed her as she tried to run to Sophia.  
We all just watched as Sophia got closer. Rick walked up and shot her in the head.  
It was horrific. And it was an end to a lot of unanswered questions.  
Then Beth was crying and running towards what I assume was her mother .

Only Annette wasn’t completely dead and tried to kill Beth.  
From bad to worse this damn day.  
They managed to get Beth away from her and stab Annette in the head.  
Then Hershel and his family started towards the house with Shane following  
Yelling that they knew she was in there the entire time.  
Carol shook Daryl off and went running towards the RV.  
I just stood there not sure what to do. Then Daryl walked up and hugged me close.  
Told me we would be ok. I’m not sure I believed him but I wanted to.

I went to stay with Carol while the others dug holes for the three and hauled off the bodies of the rest for burning.  
I sat on the RV steps so Carol would have space and listened to hear cry.  
After a while Daryl and Lori came to the RV to get me and Carol for the funeral of Shawn , Annette and Sophia.  
Carol wasn’t having it though. She said that thing wasn’t her daughter.  
I went with the others to where they had dug the graves .  
It was quiet and unlike the funeral of the man Otis there was no talking, just contemplative looks.  
Then everyone went their own separate ways.  
Carol wasn’t in the RV when I got back. I hope she’s ok.

I stayed at camp while the others took care of the rest of the bodies. I started to go help but Daryl vetoed the idea.  
Told me I should stay around and wait for Carol just to be on the safe side.  
Suddenly there was yelling from the house. I ran towards it to see what had happened.  
Beth passed out and wasn’t responding to anyone. Hershel was missing.  
Rick and Shane went with Maggie and Glenn to look through Hershels room.  
I stayed in the room with Beth and Patricia.  
Rick decided to go look for Hershel thinking he had gone into town to the local bar.  
Glenn was going with him. Lori wasn’t happy about him leaving.  
Shane was pissed off but then he’s been pissed off since i got with the group so there was no change there.  
Maggie wasn’t happy about Glenn going either.  
Rick was right though they needed Hershel for the baby. Lori told me Carl was born via c-section so more than likely she’d have to have this one the same way.  
Lord what a mess !!

I stayed at the house for a little longer then headed out to mine and Daryl's tent.  
It was set up a little way from the others.  
Far away enough for privacy but close enough that we could hear if something happened.  
Daryl was already there skinning some squirrels . I never thought I'd ever willingly eat squirrels.  
But then the zombie apocalypse hit and boom squirrels aren’t bad.  
Daryl always huffs at me when I call it the zombie apocalypse. But no matter what anyone wants to call it they are basically zombies.  
But I'll humor everyone and call them walkers. It’s no different then referring to them as THEM.  
I only called them that because my other group didn’t like me calling them zombies. I caught a lot of flack for calling them that.  
A while later after we’d eaten we were sitting around the fire. I was mending one of Daryl's shirts. And he was working on new arrows. I looked up and saw Lori heading over.  
“Beths in some type of catatonic shock we need Hershel. I need you to go into town and get him and Rick and bring them back.” Lori said to Daryl  
Oh Hell no !  
Before Daryl could say anything I stepped in.  
“No he’s not going.” i said  
Lori looked shocked  
“Y/N that’s selfish of you . “ Lori said  
I could see Daryl ready to step in but I put my hand on his wrist to hold him off.  
“There’s nothing selfish about it Lori. Rick and Glenn haven’t been gone that long.  
If that wasn’t enough reason to hold off sending anyone else. Daryl is wounded. It wasn’t that long ago he was carried back in bleeding and out of it. There are others that could go after them; it doesn’t always have to be Daryl. And it’s not going to be. “ I said  
She looked upset. It's hard to tell if it’s because I talked back or because I was right.  
“Did you even ask the others? What about Shane?” i asked  
She looked sheepish when I said Shanes name.  
“I didn’t think that would be a good idea.” she said  
“Look Lori I don't know exactly what's going on with you and Shane. If it has something to do with the baby or what. And it’s not my business. But whatever is going on is just getting worse. Eventually it’s going to get really bad and someone is going to get hurt.” i said  
Daryl huffed  
“He better not touch you again if he wants to live.” daryl said  
Lori looked shocked at what he said  
“Y/N what is he talking about?” lori asked  
“At the CDC he had her pinned to the wall. I Didn't know what he planned to do. I didn't give him a chance to take it farther. “ Daryl said  
“Oh god.” Lori said  
“He had come out of the rec room there and was mad.” I said  
“Oh god Y/N i’m so sorry. I didn’t know.” She said  
“The only other person that knows is Dale. Because I stick close to him when Daryl isn’t around so I had to tell him.” i said  
“Oh sweetie i’m so sorry . The rec room..I “ lori stumbled over her words  
“It was you he was in the rec room with.. Y'all got into a fight or something. I figured it out the next morning. The scratches and the weird looks between you two. I don’t blame you Lori. But i’m not going to let you send Daryl into a dangerous situation just because you don’t trust Shane.” i said firmly  
“Well he did kill Otis.” Daryl said sitting back down at the fire  
The look on Lori's face when he said that.  
“Y/N what does he mean killed Otis? Otis was killed by walkers.” she asked  
Daryl huffed  
“He was the one putting the walkers in the barn. He knew how to handle them.” daryl said  
“No he wouldn’t do that.” Lori said  
“Did you think he’d do what he did at the CDC?” i asked  
She was close to tears , she just shook her head and walked away.  
Daryl looked over at me  
“So i’m not going huh?” he asked with an eyebrow raised  
“Nope.” i said smiling  
He huffed but I could see the hint of a smile.  
I kissed his cheek as I walked back to my spot by the fire.

A little while later T-Dog came and told us that dinner was ready if we wanted to come up to the house. So we headed up. I mean it would be a nice change from spam and squirrel .  
We sat down at the table with everyone . Then someone asked about Lori , Shane asked Carl the last time he’d seen his mom.  
I looked at Daryl and he shrugged.  
“She came out to talk to Daryl earlier. She wanted him to go after Rick but I told her no. Said it was too early to worry and send someone else.” i said  
“Did she say she was going after them?” Shane asked  
“No she didn’t say anything like that. I would have tried to talk her out of it. We talked about something else. Then she walked back this direction.” i said  
Carl was crying and everyone else was in shock.  
“Did she take a gun?” he asked me  
“She didn’t say anything about going by herself. I told her to talk to you or T-Dog about going if she was that worried. That it was too early for Daryl to be wandering after he was injured. So I have no clue about guns, that's not my job.” i said  
Shane turned his attention to Dale  
“Did she take a gun?” he asked Dale  
“I don’t know I wouldn't have let her go.” Dale said  
Andrea piped up  
“She asked me to look in on Carl.” she said  
“Did she say she was going after them?” Shane asked  
“No she didn’t say why she just asked me.” Andrea said  
Shane jumped up from the table and headed out the door and got into his car and peeled out of the yard.  
“She’s going to be fine Carl. Just try and eat something.” i said  
Poor kid both parents out wandering lord only knows where. He had tear tracks down his cheeks and was sniffling.  
No one would be getting any sleep tonight it seemed. Daryl reached over and squeezed my hand .

A while later Shane showed back up with Lori. Lori started asking where Rick was.  
“Lori Rick and the others aren’t back yet.” i said  
“What?” she said then cut a look at Shane  
“Lori, I had to get you back here . I had to make sure you and the baby were ok.” Shane said  
Well there's another secret out of the bag.  
“Baby?” Carl asked  
Almost everyone looked shocked. The exceptions were me , Daryl and Dale.

“Let’s go get you inside so we can check you out and make sure you're ok.” Dale siad ushering Lori towards the house.  
Once Lori's injuries were seen Shane started in on her about lying to her about Rick.  
“I think Lori needs some time. You should go for now. “ i said to Shane  
He looked mad like he was going to say something or come at me. But he backed down fast.  
I could feel Daryl standing behind me and knew that was why.  
“Fine!.” Shane said then storming out of the house  
Lori reached over and grabbed my hand  
“Thank you Y/N.” she said  
“You’re welcome. That won't keep him away forever though.” i said  
“Oh i know i just need a little bit before i have to deal with him anymore.”she said  
“Ok we’ll sit in here with you till you’re ready.” i said  
Daryl and the others nodded .  
The night seemed to pass slowly. Finally at one point Dale told Daryl and I that we should go get some sleep just in case we did have to send people out tomorrow.  
So we headed out to our tent and settled in for the night.  
Unlike some nights there was no talking we just settled in curled around each other and went to sleep.  
Tomorrow would either bring good news or more bad.

After breakfast it was decided to send out a group to look for the others. As they were gearing up Dale called out and pointed to the road. We could see Hershels SUV driving towards the farm.  
After it parked Hershel started calling Patricia to get the surgery ready. Rick went and checked on Carl and Lori. He was noticeably upset when he found out Lori had been hurt because she went out after him.  
That’s when someone noticed the fourth person in the car. He was bound , blindfolded and out cold.  
Apparently his name was Randall. Oh Rick what have you done now.  
I looked at Daryl. He just shook his head at me slightly. Meaning we’d talk about it later when no one else was around.  
Well that clinched it bad news it was.

After Hershel finished operating on Randalls leg he came out and everyone started talking about what we should do.  
Rick said that as soon as Randall was up and about they’d fix him a pack and drive him some place and drop him off.  
After that we all headed our own directions. Daryl took my hand and we walked to our tent.  
“This is going to get bad isn’t it?” i asked him  
“Yeah. Shane is already on edge this will just make it worse.” he said  
“Maybe when he comes around someone should have a chat with him. Find out about him and the people he was with. If they were in town then they're close. It would be good to have information on a potential threat. Right?” i asked  
He nodded “Yeah and it may help fix things before they get worse.” He said  
“I’ll go talk to Rick in a little while.” he said  
I just nodded  
He walked over and wrapped his arms around my waist and propped his chin on my head.  
We just stood like that for a while.  
Then he headed over to talk with Rick. I stayed at our tent and worked on some mending.

Rick agreed that we should talk to him and put Daryl in charge of it. What was supposed to help keep things from getting any worse backfired big time. 

“His group has 30 men with heavy weapons and they aren’t looking to make friends. If they find us we’ll be dead and our women will wish they were.” Daryl said to the group after chatting with Randall  
“What did you do?” Carol asked  
“He did what had to be done for all of us. Let it go Carol.” I said  
Daryl reached over and wrapped his arm around my waist  
“There's more.” Daryl said  
“What?” asked Rick  
“Apparently he’s from around this area. Just joined this group recently. He went to school with Maggie. Knows about her family.” he said  
“Damn!” Rick said  
“Rick, why did you bring him back? Glenn said he was shooting at you before he fell. Why not just leave him?” i asked  
I felt Daryl's hand on the small of my back.  
“He’s a kid Y/N. I couldn’t leave him.” Rick said  
“Rick you're not a cop anymore. And this isn’t the world we use to live in. Doing things like this now could get all of us killed. You’re a good man but you have to be a bad man sometimes if you want us all to survive.” I said  
Rick didn’t say anything just turned and walked away.  
“Y/N he did what he thought was best. You need to support him on this.” Lori said  
“Lori doing what he thinks is best and doing what's best are two different things. I know he did what he thought was best. But it wasn’t the best decision for all of us. Not in the long run and i can’t support that. “ i said  
Lori shook her head and walked away.  
Daryl took my hand and pulled me back towards our tent.  
“You’re right but it won’t matter. He’s going to freeze on this .” Daryl said  
“I know and it’ll get someone killed. Either him or one of us.” I said  
“Hey you and me were good. If it looks like it’s going bad we have the back up plan. We’ll just get out fast.” Daryl said  
I just nodded and rested my head on his shoulder.

Later the next day the group got together to discuss the Randall situation.  
Dale was pushing to let him live. To bring him into the group.  
Most everyone else was opposed to that. Myself included.  
Daryl had told me more about what Randall had told him and knowing all that I just didn’t trust him.  
It was decided that he would be killed . Dale was very upset about it and wanted everyone to take a day to think about and come back together at the same time the next day.  
We all agreed . I don’t think it will change things though. It definitely wouldn’t change my mind.

I looked up and saw Dale heading our way from the main camp.  
“Dales coming.” i said  
Daryl huffed  
“I expected he would at some point.” he said  
“Daryl , Y/N i wanted to talk to you both about Randall.” Dale said  
“Dale, I'm not changing my mind on this .” i said  
“Y/N you’re a good person this is murder were talking about.” Dale said  
“The world isn’t what it was before Dale. This world is kill or be killed. Honestly it would have been better if they had left him to the walkers and not brought him here.” i said  
“How can you say that? This is an innocent man's life.” Dale said  
Daryl made small noise  
“He’s not innocent. He may not have gotten his hands dirty like the others in his group. But he ain’t innocent.” Daryl said  
“What do you mean?” Dale asked  
“Dale there were other things that he told Daryl. Things about what him and his group do when the men go out for supplies. Daryl’s right Dale he ain’t innocent. His hands aren’t clean.” i said  
“Why didn’t you tell the others this?” Dale asked  
“What good would details have made? Daryl told them everything that was important. Details would have just caused a panic. He got with Rick after everyone talked that first time and told him what he said. “ I said  
“I don’t know what to think about this now. Maybe he was forced into it. It doesn't have to mean he’s a bad person.” Dale said  
Daryl just huffed and walked to the other side of our camp  
“Dale you’re reaching. You’re desperate to find a reason not to kill him. But i don’t think it’s really because you care about him. You don’t want the old world to be gone and I get it really. But it is gone and there's nothing we can do about that. This new world is mean and dangerous. This new world is fight or die. I’m sorry Dale. I really am. I wish i could tell you it’ll get better but i won’t lie to you. The old world is gone and it’s never coming back well not in any of our lifetimes at least . Maybe a few generations from now. But there’s always going to be someone willing to kill us for what we have. And if we don’t fight then we’re done.” i said  
Dale looked like he was close to tears  
“Dale why don’t you go back to the RV and rest . It’s been a rough day all around.” i said  
He just nodded and turned to walk back to the main camp.  
I felt Daryl lean down and kiss the side of my head.  
“Don't worry he’ll be ok.” he said  
I just nodded and with that we went back to quietly doing what we had been doing.  
Daryl was making more arrows and I was mending one of my shirts this time.

The next day came to quickly for my liking.  
Daryl went out to hunt and I stuck close to the main camp.  
Later in the day T-Dog went to check on Randall only to find him gone.  
The panic set in fast. Then Shane came out of the woods yelling for Rick with his face covered in blood. He said that Randall got the jump on him and took his gun.  
None of what he said made sense. I pulled Daryl to the side real fast.  
“Don’t listen to him. “ i said  
“What do you mean?” Daryl asked  
“I have a bad feeling . I think no matter what you and Glenn should very quietly follow Rick and Shane. Something isn’t right here. I just know it.” i said  
He nodded  
“Ok just in case make sure our stuff is in one of the vehicles . And tell Hershel just for safety y'all should move supplies into a few of them as well. That way if we have to make a break we aren't high and dry.” he said  
“Ok. Please be safe.” i said  
He just nodded and kissed my forehead.  
Then turned and followed the others into the trees.

I went and found Hershel , he agreed that having supplies in some vehicles would be a good idea. Who knows what could happen.  
We had been moving everyone into the house when this all hit so instead of moving stuff in we just secured it all i different vehicles  
Push come to shove we could unpack it all tomorrow. But something in the back of my mind was telling me we weren’t going to be here tomorrow.  
I made sure all of mine and Daryl's things were packed and either on the bike or in one of the other vehicles.  
While the others were inside the house I went out to the RV and moved the supplies from it into the other vehicles. This way if we have to leave fast we can . It would mean losing the RV but if need be we can survive without it.  
After that I drove over to the generator shed in the truck and gathered up what fuel I could find.  
If we had to leave here I doubt we’d be coming back.

Time passed and no one had come back yet.  
T-Dog called to us from the porch. When we got out there we could see the walkers in the distance there had to be hundreds of them.  
Oh God!  
We decided to get everyone in the cars just in case but Lori came back and said Carl was missing .  
Good lord i have never seen a group of people that have such a hard time keeping track of kids.  
I mean we only had two.. Then they lost one and now the other one is missing.  
Everyone started searching the house. That kid never stays put. Patricia and Beth were by the window . Patricia said something about maybe Carl set the fire.  
The barn was on fire and the walkers were converging on it.  
Hershel was on the porch loading a gun determined to fight them off.  
Dale and Jimmy took the RV out to see if they could get whoever it was that set the barn of fire.  
The others loaded into vehicles to shoot the walkers . I stayed back with Lori , Patricia , Beth and Carol.  
It didn’t take long before we realized we weren’t going to win this fight so we started heading out to load up into vehicles and get off the farm.  
We couldn’t get Hershel to hear us so we went without him. Along the way we lost Patricia; they yanked her right out of Beth's hands.  
Then we lost Carol right as T-Dog and Andrea drove up.  
Andrea went to get Carol . Lori , Beth and I loaded into the truck with T-Dog. As we looked back to where Andrea went we saw her go down. And we couldn’t see Carol at all. T-Dog took off and got us away from the farm. I really hoped everyone else made it to safety too.  
T-Dog wanted to head to the coast  
“No we have to go back to the highway where we were before that traffic snarl.” i said  
“No way! We are getting out and hopefully somewhere safe.” T-Dog said  
“Let us out!” Lori said opening her door  
T-Dog slammed on the brakes and said he should leave us.  
“T-Dog Daryl and I had a back up plan if we ever got separated we‘d meet back up at the highway. He’ll go there, we have to go.” i said  
“Fine.” T-Dog said turning the truck around  
A Little while later we could see the green car Shane had fixed up ahead of us so we followed it.  
When we hit the traffic snarl we could see the other vehicles well all but the RV.  
I pushed T-Dog out of the truck so that I could get to Daryl.  
I ran, knocking Carol out of the way and threw myself at Daryl lucky he caught me.  
Everyone was talking  
Dale and Jimmy had been in the RV and it had been overrun.  
Andrea had saved Carol then gone down herself.  
Randall was dead. And so was Shane.  
Luckily Carl had gone after his father and was safe with Rick.  
God, I hate being right.  
Daryl loaded the bike onto the trailer and secured it down. While he did that I went and got our stuff out of the truck and loaded it into the SUV.  
We agreed on a direction and all headed out.  
“What happened with Randall and Shane?” I asked Daryl as soon as we were alone.  
“Turns out Shane killed Randall to draw Rick out. We followed them and Shane led him out to kill him too. Rick killed him. But then he came back and I put an arrow in his head. We got separated on the way back in . Glenn ended up finding Maggie. And I made it to my bike and down the road when I heard a scream it turned out it was Carol. She said you were with Lori and that you’d all gotten out so we took off .” Daryl said  
“This has been one huge ass mess.” i said  
Daryl huffed  
“Hell yeah it has.” he said  
Our caravan of vehicles drove for a long while then we heard a honk and we all pulled over.  
Rick said they’d been driving on red for a while. Some of the others wanted to go on a gas run right then But it was getting really close to dark.  
“That doesn’t seem safe. Anyway we don't need to go get gas. But we do need someplace to stay tonight. Driving in the dark isn't safe.” i said  
“Y/N what do you mean we don't need to go get gas.” Glenn asked  
“Well when we were packing the vehicles back up I took the truck out to the generator shed and gathered up all the fuel I could find. Daryl and I also had fuel on the trailer just in case.” i said  
“I put all the supplies from the RV into the other vehicles too. Just to be safe.” I continued  
Daryl just huffed  
He had gotten used to my weird quirks.  
The others just looked at me like I'd grown a second head.  
We decided to stay the night in the remains of an old building off the side of the road.  
Not the safest but better than other places.

The whole thing with Shane came out that night. Rick said if we stayed it was no longer a democracy. Carol tried to talk Daryl into rebelling but I put a stop to that real fast.  
With just a look in her direction.  
It seems like Rick has finally learned how to be a survivor.

I look back on everything that’s happened to me since the world ended and it's confusing.  
Somehow i ended up exactly where i was meant to be. With a grumbly red neck and an oddball bunch of survivors.  
And I wouldn't change that especially the grumbly redneck part.

My grandma died when i was still pretty young but i remember asking her once what made her know that grandpa was the one.  
She always said they were soulmates. She thought a minute and said “I knew he was the one because I never worried about what I said to him. And because I didn't feel pressured to speak a bunch of nonsense just to fill the silence. My mother told me I'd know who was right when I was at peace in solitude with them.” That always stuck with me  
At peace in solitude…  
I never felt at peace with anyone before but i realize now sitting in this Ruined building in front of a campfire.  
That i found my peace in solitude.  
I leaned my head on Daryl's shoulder and he wrapped his arms around me tighter.  
I couldn’t help but chuckle a bit. I doubt anyone other than Daryl heard it,  
He pulled his head back a bit  
“What's so funny?” he asked  
“Well i was just thinking that i wouldn’t want to be anywhere else except here in quiet solitude with you.” i said  
He just hugged and kissed my forehead.


	2. House Hunting and The Modern Apocolypse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the first part of my rewrite of Season 3 
> 
> I'm bad at summeries...
> 
> If you like it please let me know.

It’s been huh I don't know how long it's been since we were forced off the farm. We didn’t all make it.  
We lost Dale and Jimmy when the RV was overrun while they were saving Rick and Carl from the barn.  
Patricia was yanked from Beth's hands while running for the truck.  
And Andrea was lost while she was saving Carol.  
I miss Dale alot he was a very nice person and very fatherly to everyone. I didn’t know Jimmy or Patricia well but they seemed nice.  
I can’t say I miss Andrea. I didn't hate her so much as I didn't trust her. Maybe before the fall she was a nice person. I kind of have my doubts though something tells me that before the fall she was what people called a ball buster.  
We also lost Shane and I'm glad of it. I know it’s put a strain on Lori , Rick and Carl.  
Well if i’m honest it’s put a strain on all of us to some extent.  
But in the end Shane brought it upon himself leading Rick out with the intention of killing him and for killing Randall.  
If Daryl and Glenn hadn’t followed them at a distance that night who knows what would have happened.  
Daryl is calmer now that he doesn’t have to keep me safe from one of the group. Lori apologized again for the incident at the CDC but I kept telling her that wasn’t her fault. Oh don’t get me wrong she’s made a lot of mistakes and she knows it. I do hope that her and Rick can move on eventually. Mend fences and maybe even be a family again but i have my doubts.  
I think when it comes to them the best we can hope for is that they’ll make peace and be able to co-parent the kids together.  
People have pulled together since Rick dropped the bombshells about Shane and how we’re all infected . Everyone worked together as a unit. It was good.

Ever since we left the farm we’ve been traveling around trying to find somewhere a little safe to hole up for a while. Atleast long enough for Lori to have the baby.  
She’s really starting to show now and she still has a couple months to go. We haven’t had any luck so far.  
Today we’re at an abandoned storage locker place the kind that offered climate controlled lockers.  
The outside of the buildings look tired and worn and the inside wasn’t any better. It looked like someone may have tried to stay here at one point . From the blood I'm assuming it didn’t go well. But we didn’t find any bodies or any of THEM so i call that a good sign.  
We pulled all the vehicles around back so that they were hidden from view. There were two doors to the bottom level one at each end. We started going through some of the lockers and the men took several boxes outside So that whoever was on watch would have something to hide behind.  
After that we all started sorting out the lockers we picked out. Daryl and I picked one that looked like it might have some hunting supplies in it. Who knows we might find something useful.  
So far what everyone had mainly found was old furniture , bedding and clothes.  
The bedding and clothes were very welcome. It was still winter and still pretty cold. Everyone was layered up as much as possible even Daryl was actually wearing a shirt and coat with sleeves. Which honestly looked completely wrong on him.  
And if I'm honest I miss seeing his arms all the time. Yes I know it’s a strange thing to miss.  
Whatever this is between Daryl and I has just gotten stronger and it feels like it’s settling into something. It’s hard to explain even to myself, forget explaining it to anyone else.  
There’s a comfort to whatever it is. Something i never thought i’d have before the fall and definitely not after it,

I spent a little while going through the storage locker and found a few things I thought Daryl could use to help with hunting.  
But otherwise it was more household items even those were welcome. Yet another down side of an apocalypse is that you have to hunt for things rather than just go by a store and pick it up quickly.  
I managed to make a pretty comfortable bed on the floor and decided to go ahead and turn in for the night. Daryl had first watch so I knew I wouldn't be getting much sleep if any but thankfully his post was close to where I was so that made me feel more at ease.  
A few hours later I heard Daryl coming in to where we had set up our spot to sleep.  
I hadn’t really been able to fall asleep even knowing he was close by hadn’t helped.  
Also having the door open was bothering me as well it just felt unsafe somehow.  
I heard him pulling down the sliding door and walking over to the bed.  
“Hey, how's it look out there?” i asked quietly  
He huffed a bit “Good ...why ain’t you sleepin’ ?” he asked as he picked up the covers to crawl in with me.  
“Just couldn’t fall asleep ….I guess i’ve gotten used to having a big redneck teddy bear to cuddle.” i said with a little laugh  
He huffed a bit more “Ain’t a teddy bear.” he said settling down in our makeshift bed.  
I cuddled up close to him and wrapped my arms around him as I laid my head on his shoulder.  
“You’re my teddy bear….but just mine I'm not sharing. Everyone else will have to find their own.” i said  
“Oh yeah ?” he asked with a laugh  
“Yup...all mine.” i said leaning in to kiss him   
He met me halfway and rolled me underneath him. You take quality time where you can find it and here lately that has been tough.  
He was all consuming when he got like this….but only when we were out of sight.  
He was sweet in front of everyone but when we were alone, sweet turned to heat and I forgot everything else around us.  
The night went quickly and without any problems which was rare these days. It seemed like no matter where we went we always met up with a herd and had to turn and go a different way.  
Rick decided we’d stay here for a day or two longer. Which would give us a chance to go through some more of the lockers.  
Would also give us a bit of quiet time just us at night and i wasn’t going to complain about that.  
I had been missing being wrapped up in each other. There was something about being wrapped in his strong arms that was earth shattering to me.  
We all stayed busy going through stuff during the day just in case we got driven out by a herd.  
We were able to stay there for two days before we were driven to move again.

The days passed quickly and those turned into weeks then months.  
The weather turned from winter to spring.  
As the time passed we all began to work more like a well ordered unit.  
And as the days passed Lori’s stomach began to grow even bigger. The tension between her and Rick seemed to grow worse the closer she came to term.  
Carl, still a loving kid, was also a picture perfect child soldier in the war we were fighting with the undead.  
I sometimes find myself wondering what Sophia would be like if she had survived...She was such a timid kid would she have made it.  
Then I can't help but think maybe what happened to her was a blessing. I don't think she would have done well in this new world.  
A part of me feels horrible for thinking that….

It was starting to feel like we weren’t going to find any more food anywhere or any place to stay.  
Daryl managed to kill an owl while clearing a house.  
We had barely cleared the last house and gotten sat down before we were on the move again.  
Now here we are parked in the road trying to decide where to go.  
“It feels like we’re going in circles” I said  
“We have been all winter.” T-Dog said  
“I know it’s frustrating we’ll head north .” Rick said  
“I don’t know we’ve been all up there.” Glenn said  
“We’ve been through there twice at least .” T-Dog said  
“Three times I think actually.” Y/N said  
“Yeah i know but this time we’ll push through Noonan we haven’t been through there yet.” Rick said  
“But if that herd from here meets up with the herd from here we’ll be cut off.” Glenn said pointing to sections on the map  
“What was that 100 head?” T-Dog asked  
“At Least if not more if they meet up with that other one.” Maggie said  
“We need to head North.” Rick said  
“Yeah it’s like Y/N and T-Dog said we’ve been going in circles all winter we need to do something different.” Glenn said  
“This will work. We’ll push north through Noonan.” Rick said  
Everyone just nodded  
Daryl came up behind me and placed his hand on the small of my back. I glanced up at him and smiled.  
“Is it ok if we gather some water before we head out? We can boil it later.” T-Dog asked  
“Yeah go ahead.” rick said  
“While they wash their panties let’s hunt that owl earlier didn’t hit the spot.” Daryl said to rick  
Rick nodded  
And Daryl leaned down and kissed me  
“Stay Safe!” he said   
“Will do . You too.” i said  
He nodded and walked away into the woods with Rick  
The rest of us gathered up the containers for water and headed to the creek.  
It took us a bit to get them all filled but when we were done we headed back.  
Right as we got back to the road Rick and Daryl came out of the woods.  
“Hunting no good?” T-Dog asked  
“We found something.” Rick said  
I looked at Daryl and he nodded to me and raised his eyebrow.  
It must be good

A prison….They went hunting and found a prison.  
Well I didn't see that coming.  
“This is what we’ve been looking for. We can clear the yard, we just need to close the opposite gate. Then we can take the ones in the yard out from the guard towers. We can have it done by tonight.” Rick said  
Well it was worth a shot i suppose  
Daryl pulled me over to the bike.  
“You stay right behind me at all times. You hear?” he said  
“Yeah don’t worry i will.” i said  
He nodded and kissed my forehead  
We pulled the vehicles up outside the outer gates and ran for the fence. They had already cut it enough for us to slide through when the rest of us got there.  
I slid through and went to stand behind Daryl.  
Then we headed to the guard towers by the main gate  
“Ok someone needs to run for the gate and chain it and the others will watch their back while they run.” rick said  
“I’ll do it.” Glenn said  
“No suicide run.” Maggie threw out  
“I’m the fastest.” Glenn countered  
“I’ll run for the gate. You three get their attention and draw them to the right. Hershel you and Carl get in that guard tower. Daryl you take Y/N and Carol and get in the other tower. Y/N , Carol you’ve both gotten alot better but be careful we don't have a lot of bullets. Make every shot count. Got it.” Rick said to everyone  
We all nodded then broke and went to our positions. Lori was at the main gate. She'd open and close it for Rick.  
It went fast Rick ran through the gate shooting at any walkers that came to close. The rest of us tried to keep the rest away from him so he had a clear path. There was one close moment when one of Carol's shots went wide and hit close to Rick.  
Luckily it missed.  
“Sorry.” Carol called down to Rick then shot me an embarrassed look  
“Oops.” I said with a smirk  
Daryl just rolled his eyes at us and kept shooting  
Then before we knew it Rick had the other gate closed and was in the other tower.  
Daryl yelled to everyone “Light it up.”  
And guns started firing in quick succession. I still don’t like the noise but it was a necessary evil in the world now.  
There was no getting around it although i did like Daryl's crossbow better even if it was a bit heavy for me. He started teaching me since we left the farm and has continued while we were on the run.  
He said one of these days he was sure we’d find a smaller lighter one for me to use.  
Within a few minutes we had the field clear all the walkers were on the ground.  
We all came back together and walked into the field the next step was to check and make sure they were all completely dead  
“Oh this is the most room we’ve had since the farm.” Carol said doing a little twirl  
The voices cut into my train of thought for a short amount of time.  
Then pull the bodies together so that it would be easier to get them out.  
After they were checked and we cleared a path some of the others went and brought the vehicles into the area between the two front gates.  
We’d have to keep them there until we could move the prison bus that had wrecked and turned on its side in front of the inside gate.  
Daryl went out real fast and hunted up some squirrels while the rest of us stayed inside.

It was dark and we were all seated around a fire. Well all but Daryl who was on guard duty atop a turned over vehicle and Rick who was doing laps around the inside of the fence.  
I gathered up a little food for Daryl and went to where he was.  
“Here I brought you something to eat , it’s not much.” i said  
“Yeah i guess little Shane has an appetite .” Daryl said helping me up onto the vehicle  
“Behave he’s nothing like Shane and you know it. “ i said  
“Yeah i know but some days…” he said  
“Well it’s the end of the world we all have off days.” i said  
Daryl just huffed and ate his food  
“Do you think there's a chance that anyone is alive in there?” i asked glancing back at the prison  
He looked at me funny  
“What do you mean alive?” he asked  
“Well it’s a prison so i would imagine they have sturdy doors. So why not hole up somewhere inside and wait it out. Like the commissary food , water and strong doors” i asked  
He tilted his head to the right a bit ..that meant he was thinking.  
“I suppose it’s possible.” he said  
Then he got a thoughtful look on his face  
“If someone did survive, what would we do? I mean they could be a threat. I mean if they were a prisoner they had to do something to get put in a place like this. That doesn’t inspire a lot of calm happy feelings.” i asked  
“We’ll talk to Rick and the others tomorrow and we’ll decide.” he said  
I just nodded  
Daryl leaned in and wrapped his arms around my waist.   
“Kind of romantic up here.” i said cuddling in closer  
“Uh uh not happening .” he said with a smirk  
“What do you mean?” i asked  
“I know that look and ain’t no way we’re doing anything out in the open.” he said laughing  
‘I was actually thinking of a guard tower.” i said smiling  
“Hmmm maybe.” he said glancing up at the nearest one  
I laughed at that….not happening my ass.  
We stood quietly like that cuddled up to each other and listened as Beth and then Maggie started to sing.  
{Parting Glass}

The Parting Glass  
The High Kings  
Of all the money that e'er I had  
I spent it in good company  
And all the harm I've ever done  
Alas, it was to none but me  
And all I've done for want of wit  
To memory now I can't recall  
So fill to me the parting glass  
Good night and joy be to you all  
So fill to me the parting glass  
And drink a health whate'er befalls  
Then gently rise and softly call  
Good night and joy be to you all  
Of all the comrades that e'er I had  
They're sorry for my going away  
And all the sweethearts that e'er I had  
They'd wish me one more day to stay  
But since it fell into my lot  
That I should rise and you should not  
I'll gently rise and softly call  
Good night and joy be to you all  
Fill to me the parting glass  
And drink a health whate'er befalls  
Then gently rise and softly call  
Good night and…and joy be to you all  
Fill to me the parting glass  
And drink a health whate'er befalls  
Then gently rise and softly call  
Good night and joy be to you all  
La ra la ra la la  
La lala lala la la  
La ra lala la la  
La la la lala la la  
But since it fell into my lot  
That I should rise and you should not  
I'll gently rise and softly call  
Good night and joy be to you all  
So fill to me the parting glass  
And drink a health whate'er befalls  
Then gently rise and softly call  
Good night and joy be to you all  
Good night and joy be to you all

We all settled in to get some rest. It’s been a death march since the farm and we’re all exhausted.  
Morning came much too early.

Everyone was gathered around the fire eating a small breakfast...very small.  
“Everyone, I have a question.” i said  
“Go ahead Y/N you don’t have to ask for permission.” Rick said smiling at me  
Daryl put his hand in the small of my back.  
“Well I was wondering it's a prison so it’s got sturdy doors and walls so what if someone decided to barricade themselves in and wait this all out. Like in the commissary where they would have supplies and strong doors. So there could still be people alive there. Maybe?” i asked  
Everyone sat up straighter and looked at each other.  
“What do we do if that happens? I mean they might be a threat. I mean they were put here for a reason.” i asked  
“That is something we never thought of but now i think we should.” Hershel said  
“He’s right before we go in there and clean it out we need to decide what we’re going to do.” Rick said  
“Thank you Y/N for bringing that up.” Rick said reaching out and patting my hand  
“So maybe we wait a couple more days or even a week before we go in and clear it. That would give us time to make a plan just in case. We’re inside the fences so we’re safe. Well safer then out there anyway, ” T-Dog threw in  
“Yeah and we can rest a bit more.” Glenn said  
“And maybe make a run and get some food and whatever supplies we can find.” Maggie said  
“Alright that's a good plan. Let’s get some people together to make a run. And the rest will stay here and keep cleaning up. And setting up a camp we have tents we can make this area work till we can make a better plan. Most important part is we’re inside the fences and that gives us more protection then we’ve had in a long while.” Rick said   
“Glenn and I can make the run.” Maggie said  
“I’ll go with you and back you both up.” T-Dog said  
“Good we know what we’re doing let’s all get to it.” Rick said  
After that we broke up and got started with the day.

Daryl went with Rick and they started moving the walkers bodies into a pile for burning.  
There had been talk of moving the bodies outside the fences to burn them but nothing had been decided yet.  
I was wondering if burning them all was the best option.  
Walkers are drawn but sound , sight and smell. So if we could camouflage our smell somehow that would help keep them away a bit better at least.  
In theory that is . I wasn’t sure if I should mention it to anyone. I decided that I'd talk to Daryl about it first.  
Right now I'm helping get a camp set up. 

A Little while later I saw Daryl heading my way.  
They had gotten all the bodies in a pile and were just trying to decide if they should move them out or burn them inside.  
Daryl walked up and wrapped his arms around me. I wrapped mine around his waist and hugged him tight not caring about the smell of the dead that clung to him.  
These days that smell clung to all of us to some extent.  
And even after moving all the bodies there was still his scent under it all and I loved to just cuddle into it.  
“You doin’ alright?” he asked  
“Yeah I did have a thought though.” I said, tilting my head up and propping my chin on his chest.  
“Oh yeah ?” he asked always the man of few words  
“Yeah if walkers are drawn by sound and smell then wouldn’t it help to camouflage our smell somehow?” i asked  
He tilted his head and looked at me...This was a look I was used to. I get it whenever I pull some weird idea out of thin air.  
“You got an idea about how we could do that?” he asked  
“Yeah don’t burn the bodies...I know it sounds crazy but stack them up outside the outer fences. Maybe even put some posts up to help hold them off the wire and make a layer of them. You know, like wearing a warm coat over a sweater to keep the cold out. And we do that with all the bodies we clear from inside to. It would also help keep the walkers away from the fence because this fence was made to keep people in, not keep people out. If we get a herd pushing against it i don’t think it’ll hold and then we’re done for.” I said  
He huffed a bit then leaned down and kissed my head.  
“Your head comes up with some strange ideas but hell they usually work out well. I’ll go talk to Rick and we’ll talk to everyone later and decide what to do.” He said  
I stood up on my toes a bit ...it’s tough being short...and leaned in to kiss him.  
Thankfully he knew what i was doing so he leaned down to meet me as i kissed him.  
I moved to wrap my arms around his neck and kept kissing him. We don’t get alot of quality time since we left the farm but I'll take what I can get.  
I made a noise of protest when he pulled back out of the kiss…  
He chuckled a bit and said “Behave we got work to do still. Finish setting up camp. I'll go talk to Rick. The others should be back from the run soon. “   
He kissed my head quickly then walked over to talk to Rick.

I turned to go help the others some more only to see Lori watching us.  
She just smiled and patted the spot next to her on the ground.  
“You two are so cute together. Who knew that Daryl Dixon could actually be adorable.” Lori said chuckling as i sat down  
I just smiled. He is adorable, well he is to me. Adorable and sexy.  
“So how’s it going with the bodies?” she asked  
“Ok Daryl said they’ll decide later what exactly to do with them. “ I said  
She just nodded  
“You ok?” i asked her  
“Yeah sweetie i’m fine…” she said although her eyes told a different story  
“You want to talk about it??” i asked her  
Her eyes got a little misty...then she started talking  
“I’ve really screwed up. Rick can’t stand to look at me and Carl ‘sigh’ he is so angry at me. I don’t know how to make it better. I don’t know if i ever can. And now with the baby almost here i have no clue where we go from here.” She said with a few tears falling from her eyes  
“Time… Time is what you need. We’ve been spending so much time just trying to survive that we haven’t had time to deal with anything else Lori. My grandma told me that people say time heals all wounds but that’s not true. Time allows people to heal themselves of their wounds. But everyone heals at a different speed. Just because one person is healed in say 6 months it doesn’t mean another person can heal themselves in that time. Some will need less time and some will need more time. And we all just have to be patient and wait for them to catch up.” I said to her  
“Time huh?” Lori said  
“Yeah time” i said  
“Just concentrate on the baby right now….and let time handle the rest.” i told her  
“Good advice my dear.” Hershel said from his position standing behind us.  
“We need to get you a bell….you’re so quiet “ i said smiling up at him  
He chuckled and said “Well quiet these days is a good thing , i think the bell would defeat the purpose .” he said smiling  
“I suppose so.” i said  
I glanced up and saw that they had gotten back from the run.  
“I’ll go help them hopefully they found some good stuff.” i said smiling as i stood up  
Lori and Hershel both nodded   
“They are so adorable together.” Lori said  
Hershel chuckled  
“Yes they are , i’m sure no one ever thought they’d use the word adorable to describe Daryl” he said  
Lori laughed “I’m sure you’re right….but they are perfect together. I didn’t think that would be the case when we found her in Atlanta that day.” she said  
“I always wondered how she ended up with your group. I remember hearing someone say she hadn’t always been with you. But I never heard exactly what happened. Can you tell me?” Hershel asked  
Lori smiled a sad smile and said “It was not long after our camp outside of Atlanta had been attacked by walkers. God we lost so many people that night. We decided to go to the CDC and try to find help. We lost more because of that decision. It was when we were driving through Atlanta to get to the CDC she was just there by the road waving her arms. No weapons except a piece of wood she’d found. She said she’d been with others and they’d taken a shortcut through the city to try and get supplies but they were attacked. She was the only one left from her group. I used to wonder what her old group must have been like. Oh she was so timid when we first found her. Hardly said anything like she was afraid to talk..Apologized for everything too.  
But even through all of that she would do stuff to help and never asked for thanks. In fact most of the time she looked like she expected to be yelled at for doing good things and being helpful.  
Daryl started looking after her right away that first night at the CDC in fact . No clue why he had never done it with anyone else before. And then Shane ‘sigh’ “   
“Shane what Lori?” Hershel asked  
“Shane was drunk at the CDC...a lot of us were drunk at the CDC but Shane tried to force himself on me . I fought him off but after he left I found out he tried to do it to Y/N as well.  
Pushed her up against a wall , thankfully Daryl caught it before anything happened. After that he kept her really close to him. If he wasn’t around she was with Dale I realized later that he had known no clue for how long though. He’s been taking care of her ever since. And somewhere along the road their relationship started to change for the better. It’s made her more confident and it’s made Daryl calmer. She’s done so much good since we found her , I don’t think she even realizes it though. Her old group had her broken down when we found her , she's doing better but I still see it sometimes.That scared girl who's afraid to speak up for fear of what others will do or say.” Lori said with tears flowing slowly  
“It sounds to me like God saw you struggling and he gave you a gift.” Hershel said smiling  
“A gift...yeah i can see that she has been a gift to us. Especially for Daryl. She’s definitely been a gift to him, one that I think he very much needed . ” Lori said, thinking back to how he used to be and to what happened to Merle.  
The change in him is so dramatic from that angry violent man at the quarry to this kinder softer gruff man we all see now.  
Lord what would he do if he ever lost her…..he’d burn the world to the ground.  
“Love it’s a strange thing….”Lori said  
“Yes my dear it is….but wondrous as well.” Hershel said patting her shoulder  
Lori just smiled up at him

You walked over to where they parked the cars .  
“So find anything good out there?” Y/N asked  
“Yeah hit the jackpot...canned goods , baby formula , first aid items and even some other baby stuff. You know clothes and toys.” T-Dog said  
“Nice” i said smiling  
“That’s good to hear. I’m glad now we waited to clear the rest of the prison and did this instead.” Rick said as he and Daryl walked up.  
Daryl continued past the others to come over to me wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing my cheek.  
“Oh lord you two are worse then Glenn and Maggie.” T-dog said laughing  
“Hey!” Glenn and Maggie said at the same time  
Rick just laughed and Daryl huffed a bit as he tucked his face into Y/N’s neck.  
“Sounds like sour grapes to me T….maybe we need to find you a special friend.” i said laughing  
Everyone just laughed at that...including T-Dog  
“Well everybody sounds so happy you must have done good on the run.” Hershel said as he walked up to the group  
“Yeah daddy we did really well.” Maggie said walking over to hug Hershel  
“Good i’m glad to hear it...it’s nice to have a bit of good luck for a change.” he said  
“It makes for a nice change that’s for sure.” Y/N said cuddling closer to Daryl  
Hershel just looked at them and smiled.  
He hadn’t known what to think of Daryl when he first met him. At first he thought to keep him as far away from his girls as possible . But then he’d seen him with Y/N and he’d been even more confused.  
He was so gruff with everyone….everyone but her.  
With her he was so careful and treated her so delicately . Like she was made of glass or fine china.  
And now after all this time he realizes that Daryl is a good man . That he’d always have their backs no matter what. But god help anyone that hurt that girl of his he’d tear the world apart to keep her safe.  
Hershel was glad Y/N had someone to love her like that. He was glad Maggie had Glenn to love her like that. Because he has no doubt that if someone hurt Maggie well Glenn would rip them apart slowly.  
He had hopes that one day Bethy would have someone that would love her so much that they’d be willing to rain vengeance down on anyone that hurt her.  
And he hopes that he lives long enough to meet them and shake their hand.

It’s times like this when he really misses his wife , she always knew what to say.  
She always seemed to have a sense that helped her make the right choices.  
He struggled with that lord how he struggled and failed a lot as well.  
She always told him the good lord would point him in the way he needed to go.  
But with everything that’s happened he’s begun to have doubts about that.  
He heard Y/N say something though and he’s been thinking about it alot since she said it.  
It was something she told Carl one day when he was struggling .  
Her mother told her ‘ The angels up high see you struggling honey and they won’t let you fall too far. But they will let you fall a bit. They have to you see , it’s how they test you to see if you’re one of them or one of the others. Because an angel will fall down a hundred times and get up a hundred and one .  
But a demon will fall down once then instead of getting up they pull everyone else down to them.  
If an angel sees someone fall they’ll hold out a hand and help them up but a demon will trip them as they pass and pull them further down.  
So remember no matter how much of a struggle it is, always pull yourself back up and hold out a hand to people so that you can help pull them up as you go.  
Cause the road to hell is paved with good intentions my dear but the road to heaven is paved in blood and tears.’


	3. Dead Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Y/N and Daryl spending a bit of quiet time together.  
> (I'm horrible at summeries)

Everything was quietest in the early morning hours right before sun up.  
When the sun was just starting to show itself in the sky in different shades of pink peeking out from behind the clouds.  
We’d been here several days so far and we’ve almost settled in.  
We haven’t started clearing the actual prison yet we were resting up and planning.  
Honestly there was no rush. We were safer then we’d been since the farm.  
Now we just needed to rest and gather ourselves back together.  
Daryl was on watch and I just couldn’t sleep anymore.  
He’d become something of a security blanket for me without him sleep just wouldn’t come.  
So I finally gave up and carefully wandered out of our tent and over to the farthest side of the yard.  
I glanced up at the tower I knew he was in...he glanced down at me and raised his eyebrow a bit in question.  
I just smiled so that he’d know I was ok and he nodded back.  
I suppose I should start a fire and get ready to cook breakfast but I still need a little time.  
To get my mind together..  
Some Days my head just seems to wander so fast that I can't keep up.  
When i was a kid the teachers would always say i was being lazy and daydreaming.  
But honestly I just couldn’t get my mind to settle on one thing long enough to deal with it.

It’s still a struggle some days…

I found a spot close to the fence and just sat down and looked out at the trees.  
Unfortunately THEY were out there too but that was the norm these days.  
No matter where you looked you’d see THEM.  
I let my mind wander on to different paths not trying to settle on anyone thing.  
But I did keep thinking back to a dream I had.  
I heard footsteps coming up behind me but I wasn't worried. I knew it was Daryl.  
Not sure how I knew I just did.  
I always know when he’s close and he rarely let’s me out of his sight so he always knows where I'm at as well.  
He sat his cross bow down beside me and sat down behind me with his legs on either side of me.  
Pulling me back against his chest snuggly and propping his chin on my shoulder.  
“What you thinkin’ so hard on?” he asked  
I tilted my head back onto his shoulder and kissed his cheek  
“Not one particular thing really. Just everything in the world now. I guess i’m feeling a bit melancholy today.” i said with a sigh  
He huffed a bit and kissed and nuzzled my neck .  
“Don’t help to dwell none darlin’ you know that.” Daryl said kissing my neck again  
“Oh I know I just can’t seem to focus on much else. It’s like my head’s surrounded by a bunch of buzzing bugs. I had a dream about my grandma during the night and I can't seem to shake it.” i said  
He made a hmmm sound as he nuzzled into my neck again that was Daryl for go ahead and tell me.  
“I was at my grandparents house….i haven't seen that house in lord who knows how long. Years before the world went to hell. I can still close my eyes and picture it though. But I was sitting at the table in the kitchen watching her shell peas. We weren’t talking or anything just sitting quietly.  
I always used to like watching her hands...they weren’t pretty hands they were calloused and gnarled from hard work but they were delicate and gentle with skin that was tissue thin. Especially when I was little she would pat me on the cheek all the time and tell me everything would be ok that god had a plan for me.  
I always asked how she knew that she’d just smile and say never mind that i just do.  
And my grandpa would laugh and say don’t question it she’ll never say.  
But he always said she just knew and that it was unnerving at times.  
He also said he’d stopped asking her how she knew things early in their marriage; he just had faith.   
Suddenly she just stopped and looked up at me and said ‘ One of these days we’ll all be gone and you’ll be alone. But it’ll be ok you’ll make yourself another family. So don’t fret and don’t mourn you’ll be just fine.’  
And then she went back to work shelling peas.  
It reminded me of what she told me the day she died. She had been in the hospital for a while. She had caught a cold and couldn’t kick it. I told her she’d be ok and we’d get her home soon. She smiled and patted my hand and told me she wasn’t going to see her house again.  
Said it was her time….that she’d known since she was a girl when she’d go. Then she grabbed my hand real tight in hers and looked me in the eye and said ‘ I don’t want you to mourn me when i go. I lived my life and I'm at peace with this but I want you to promise me something you don’t ever give up. Dark days are coming to this world of ours and I won't be here to help you through them. But I'll be watching over you always and I'll help as much as I can. Just remember everything I've taught you over the years and let god handle the rest. He has a plan for this world and for you. It may not seem like it some days but he does so take comfort in that.’  
We didn’t talk much more after that she kind of rambled on about different things. Then right before she took her last breath she pulled me close and held my hand and told me she would send me an angel to help me through the new world. But it wouldn’t be what i’d expect .  
Then she told me she loved me and just went to sleep with a smile on her face.” Y/N said  
Daryl huffed a bit into my neck where he had his face pressed.  
“I think she meant you….I definitely didn’t expect you but i know i couldn’t make it through this world without you and i wouldn’t want to. Oh I might be able to stumble along and survive for awhile. But I wouldn't make it long and I wouldn't thrive.” I said   
Daryl chuckled “I ain’t no angel honey. Devil maybe.” he said nipping my neck  
I smiled and looked back at him “You forget Lucifer was an angel he just didn’t play by the same rules as the other angels. And you do have wings.”  
He shook his head, leaned in and kissed me hard ..  
“Ain’t nobody ever called me an angel before and I doubt anyone other than you would. I guarantee I ain't no angel .” he said  
“Well of course no one else has ever called you an angel….You’re only my angel not theirs. I don’t share. They'll have to get their own. I'm stingy like that when it comes to you.” I said laughing  
Daryl pulled his head back a bit and raised an eyebrow smiled and said “Oh yeah?”  
“Yup all mine!” i said smiling  
He just shook his head and leaned in to kiss me.  
We stayed like that kissing and cuddling till the others started to wake up and move around.  
We stood up to go help the others.  
As Daryl pulled me up he wrapped his arms around me and looked into my eyes and asked  
“Do you think she was right? Does god have a plan?” He asked  
“Of Course he does after all he gave me you. And whatever else he has planned well it’ll be ok because i’ve got my family. I got that the minute I got you and whatever else he throws at us we'll be fine because we’ll deal with it together.” i said kissing him  
He just huffed a bit and leaned down to kiss me better.

My grandpa always said “Nostalgia is a disease. Don’t let it pull you in if you do you’ll never be free of it.”  
I worry sometimes I'm letting it pull me in but then Daryl comes and pulls me back out .  
Grandpa may have been right but I'll be ok because I have my grumpy angel to pull me back to earth.


	4. Lil Ass Kicker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judith is born.

We still hadn’t cleared the prison...Something always came up.  
We were going to start today then Lori went into labor.  
That was five hours ago.  
It’s not going well because she had Carl via c-section.

Maggie and Glenn had gone out on another run to try and gather up more medical stuff.  
But honestly without a fully functional hospital I think our chances are bad.  
Just in case Lori was having a talk with Carl to try and prepare him for the worst.  
But how do you really prepare someone for that?  
Rick was just out of it; he was staring into space and unmoving.

“Hey you doing alright?” Daryl asked wrapping his arms around me  
“No i’m not….Losing anyone else will break us. “ i said  
“Hey she ain’t gone. The baby ain’t gone. We’re all here and ok. You stop that shit right now girl.” he said  
“I’m just worried is all.” Y/N said  
“I know that darlin i get it….no matter what we’ll be ok. We’ll make it.  
It’ll be tough as hell but we’ll make it .” he said pulling me in tight to him  
I leaned in and started crying on his shoulder.  
“I’m always gonna be here for you and you’re always gonna be here for me. Got it?” he said firmly  
“Yeah I got it. I love you ya’ know.” i said  
“Hell baby yeah I know...I love you too.” he said leaning his forehead against mine

48 hours later a healthy baby girl was born.  
But Lori was a mess and she bled out. Herschel tried so hard we all did but there was nothing we could do.  
Everyone is numb and crying.  
Carl looks haunted.  
And Rick...god Rick he looks completely gone.  
We were lucky we have formula so we don’t have to worry about that.  
Lori and Rick let Carl name her; our newest member is called Judith.  
Although Daryl has taken to calling her Lil Ass Kicker.

I wasn’t sure we could handle losing anyone else.  
I guess this new world decided we don’t get a choice.  
I was thankful they got to talk to her before she passed.  
She used those 50 plus hours in labor to talk to everyone.  
She wanted to go with a clear head and I think she knew she wasn’t going to make it.  
She talked to all of us no matter how much pain she was in.

My talk with Lori…

“Hey sweetie….don’t cry ok. I need you to listen to what I'm telling you.  
The group you were with before us...you forget everything they ever said to you. You are good and smart. And you are so very brave.  
You walked through Atlanta alone with just a piece of wood because you were determined to live.  
You have done so much good , you have helped this group so very much. I screwed up alot in my life but I always knew bringing you into the group was right and good.  
The group will need you even more...So you need to be really brave again. No tears. Carl listens to you better than most these days...he’s going to need you when i’m gone.  
Promise me” Lori said  
“I promise.” i said  
“Thank You Honey...now give me a hug and send someone else in.” Lori said holding her arms out to me  
I leaned in and hugged her wishing i could fix everything but it can’t

Lori’s last words were : Goodnight Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Loris last words on the show....
> 
> Carl, baby I don't want you to be scared okay? This is what I want. This is right. Now, you take care of your daddy for me okay? And your little brother or sister, you take care of them."  
> "You're gonna be fine. You are gonna beat this world, I know you will. You are smart, and you are strong and you are SO brave. And I love you. You gotta do what's right. Promise me you'll always do what's right. It's so easy to do the wrong thing in this world, so if it feels wrong, don't do it, if it feels easy don't do it, don't let the world spoil you. You are so good my sweet, sweet boy. The best thing I ever did. I love you, I love you my sweet boy. I love you."  
> "Goodnight love"


End file.
